1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus. More particularly, the present invention relates to an image processing apparatus which is applied to a digital camera and which searches for an object image that coincides with a registered object image from an object scene image.
2. Description of the Related Art
According to one example of this type of apparatus, a human-region detecting section detects a face region of a human existing in a region to be photographed by referring to an image inputted from an image input section. Moreover, a brightness-variation-region detecting section divides the image inputted from the image input section into local regions, and evaluates a distribution of a temporal change of brightness information in each of the local regions. An input control section controls an input-image adjustment element based on detection results of these detecting sections.
On the other hand, a human-feature extracting section extracts feature information of the face of the human from the face region detected by the human-region detecting section. A recognizing section checks the extracted feature information of the face of the human with previously-registered feature information of a face of a human so as to recognize the human existing within the region to be photographed.
However, in the above-described apparatus, a common input image having a quality that follows the input-image adjustment element is referred to in each of the input control section and the recognizing section. Thus, depending on a color of the face of the human, there is a possibility that either one of a performance of reproducing the face image or a performance of searching for the face image is deteriorated.